Two nights removed from the NFL season, the NBA wasted zero time pouring on the action and reminding its fans why they’re currently the biggest and best show in town. The schedule was light, just five games, but still, some of the NBA’s best storylines of the season emerged. Some players will forever live in infamy for getting posterized (Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries) or rained on (Golden State Warriors), while another (Samuel Dalembert) will enter the history books for having the greatest game of his career.
If you don’t believe me, just watch.
KOBE.
Black Mamba visited BK last night and brought vintage Kobe with him. With the game tied at 80 and less than three minutes remaining, Kobe went old school. None of this, I’m going to pass the ball stuff. He drove through the lane, without hesitation, and yammed it on the 6’7 Gerald Wallace and 6’9 Kris Humphries.
Kobe’s dunk not only brought Barclays to their feet (watch John Legend’s reaction in the slow mo video below), but it also helped seal the win for the struggling Lakers who are still climbing back toward .500.
and in slow motion…
SAMUEL DALEMBERT WENT OFF AND SET NBA RECORD
Nope, that’s not a typo. Samuel Dalembert really went bizzerk last night. While I was glued to my TV watching Michigan fend off their Ohio State rivals, my twitter timeline was working overtime reporting the insane game Dalembert was having. Last night, he exploded offensively and became the first player in NBA history to record 35 points and 12 rebounds…in 27 minutes. Here are the highlights.
But, it wasn’t enough to get the win. Despite Dalembert’s record setting game, Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari responded, each dropping 22 points for the Denver Nuggets. Corey Brewer also joined the party, adding 20 points of his own, which was enough for a Nuggets victory.
DANILO GALLINARI’S TRICK SHOT
Dalembert wasn’t the only player to add to his highlight reel during last night’s game, though. Gallinari completed one of the most incredible shots of the season while drawing contact from Mike Dunleavy. The announcer called it the shot of the century. I wouldn’t go that far, but just watch the video and you’ll understand.
HOUSTON ROCKETS MAKE IT RAIN FROM 3-POINT LAND
The Rockets were hot like fire from the 3-point line. While setting a franchise record and tying an NBA record, they dropped 23 treys on 40 attempts on the Golden State Warriors. Jeremy Lin (28 points) drained five 3-pointers, which was a career high; and James Harden (18 points) and Chandler Parsons (16 points) each contributed four. The final score was 140-109.
Oh, you already know Mark Jackson wasn’t having it. In the closing seconds of the game, the Rockets were one three pointer away from setting a new NBA record. The crowd began chanting, “One More Three,” which prompted Jackson to order his team to intentionally foul the Rockets second string unit, in an effort to prevent further embarrassment. Jackson’s strategy was successful, but it came with a cost. With 34 seconds remaining, Draymond Green committed a flagrant-2 foul on Patrick Beverley. This came after Green picked up a technical foul earlier. He was subsequently ejected from the game. Beverley sank both foul shots.
The Rockets didn’t set a new record, but the damage was already done. The Warriors saw their four-game winning streak come to a screeching halt at the mercy of the longball.
Here’s what Jackson said after the game…
We got out-played. They made shots. Give them credit, move forward, and we play tomorrow night. We own it, we didn’t play well. Give them credit. By no means are we going to accept giving up that many points and giving up open threes and transitions shots. We’re disappointed in that and we’re going to get better at that. Some nights, its not your night and it wasn’t ours and we didn’t play particularly well. That doesn’t mean lay down and surrender. That’s not in our DNA.
And on fouling at the end of the game to prevent the Rockets from setting the record…
We’re not going to lay down. I’m an old school basketball player and an old school coach. If you cant appreciate that, that’s on you. We’re not going to lay down. If your going to try to get the record, we’re going to stop it. There is a way to do it, that’s all. Understand it, appreciate it, and I would expect nothing less if I was on the other side. As a team, we’re learning. Its nothing personal, but we have a goal and we have a mindset. And this is not last years Warriors.
At a time when the NBA has become so soft, it’s nice to see Mark Jackson hold onto some “old school” traits of the game, even if Green did go a little hard with the foul.
-@sdotrenee

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